Hanung Toys and Textiles, the owners of the Play-n-Pets brand of soft toys, will add international toy brands to its exclusive range of soft toys in the country.
“We are planning to come up with multi-brand toy outlets where, besides the Indian brands, some foreign brands will also be available,” Varun Sachar, general manager, franchisee operations, Hanung Toys and Textiles, told Indiaretailing. However, Sachar did not disclose the names of the foreign brands.
The company entered the business of retail last month by opening an exclusive brand outlet for Play-n-Pets at Select Citywalk mall in Delhi, and through the franchise route, plans to open multi-brand outlets throughout the national capital region (NCR).
AK Bansal, chairman cum managing director, Hanung Toys & Textiles, informed, “With the domestic toy market poised to grow at 25 per cent annually, Hanung is looking to expand its reach substantially through reliable franchisee partners. The brands we own are already very popular, and with our own stores and franchisee stores, we want to take the brand to the masses.”
Elaborating on expansion plans, Sachar said, “In the next six months, we are planning to open about five exclusive outlets in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and other places in the NCR. Besides, in Mumbai and Bengaluru, we are hoping to open 25 to 30 franchisee outlets in the current calendar year. We aim to have over 250 outlets by the end of 2010.”
Besides, the company also plans to open exclusive outlets for its home furnishing brand Splash at The Great India Place mall, Noida, by the end of next week. The outlet will house home décor products including bedsheets, curtains and linens under the brand name of Splash.
According to Sachar, the company initially aims to open outlets in Delhi and the NCR. “After Noida, we are opening in Delhi and Gurgaon. In the coming six months, we plan to have about four outlets under the Splash brand,” said Sachar.
– Satrajit Sen
